15 Tostada Recipes That Are Crispy, Crunchy Perfection

There’s no better way to use up extra tortillas than to fry them—and load them up with your favorite toppings.

April 10, 2023

By: Kristie Collado

Photo By: The Youngrens ©Copyright: 2011 The Youngrens, Inc

Photo By: David Malosh

Photo By: RYAN DAUSCH

Photo By: The Youngrens ©Copyright: 2011 The Youngrens, Inc

Photo By: Ryan Dausch

Photo By: The Youngrens ©Copyright: 2011 The Youngrens, Inc

Photo By: Armando Rafael

Photo By: David Moir

Photo By: Antonis Achilleos

Our Best Ideas for Tostadas

Whether you’re looking for a simple way to mix things up on taco night or are simply craving the crunchy satisfaction that only a crisp corn tortilla can provide, tostadas are the answer. They’re easy to load up with all your favorite toppings—and we find them easier to eat than hard-shell tacos (which always crumble and make a huge mess). Whether you choose authentic Mexican recipes with shredded beef or chicken or an inspired take that features bacon and eggs, you’ll find that, served with some homemade guacamole and a margarita or two, tostadas make the perfect meal. You’ll find lots of ideas for topping your tortillas in this roundup but Marcela’s chicken tinga has to be one of our favorites. It’s easy to make at home and so full of flavor. Once you shred your chicken, warm it in a flavorful sauce made from chorizo, garlic, chipotle pepper and tomato. Then, simply spoon over crispy tortillas and enjoy.

Get the Recipe: Shredded Spicy Chicken Tostadas (Tinga)

Shrimp-Avocado Tostadas

The secret to these tostadas is the quick ancho chile marinade. It comes together with just a handful of seasonings and ingredients — and gives the shrimp a wonderfully smoky flavor.

Get the Recipe: Shrimp-Avocado Tostadas

Espresso Chili Marinated Steak Tostadas

You might not think to add a shot of espresso to your steak marinade, but it gives the meat a deep, toasty flavor when cooked. We like to add a little chili powder to the marinade too, then grill the steak and serve over crunchy tostadas.

Get the Recipe: Espresso Chili Marinated Steak Tostadas

Pulled Chicken Tostadas

These quick-and-easy tostadas boast big flavor despite their simple preparation. The secret? Ingredients like bacon, fire-roasted tomatoes, chipotle pepper in adobo and ground cumin make the chicken taste nice and smoky.

Get the Recipe: Pulled Chicken Tostadas

Chicken Tostadas

Marcela uses cooked, rotisserie chicken to make quick work of these tostadas. They come together in just 15 minutes, complete with all your favorite toppings: refried beans, avocado, queso fresco and more.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Tostadas

Slow-Cooker Brisket Tostadas

Marcela cooks her brisket in the slow cooker (along with plenty of flavorful ingredients) so that it’s juicy and fork-tender — perfect for shredding and piling high on crisp, corn tostada shells.

Get the Recipe: Slow-Cooker Brisket Tostadas

Sweet Potato Tostadas

These vegetarian tostadas are so simple and delicious. They feature sweet potato, pineapple, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper and more. Topped with beans and shredded cabbage they’re every bit as filling as they are flavorful, too.

Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Tostadas

Salpicon Tostadas

Want to change up your typical tostadas? Try charring your corn tortillas on an indoor grill pan instead of frying them in oil. That’s what Marcela does for this version, topped with shredded beef brisket.

Get the Recipe: Shredded Beef Tostadas (Salpicon)

Chicken Tostadas

This recipe would be great with store-bought tortillas, but we like frying our own. They only take a minute or so to crisp up in the hot oil — and are extra flavorful and delicious.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Tostadas

Grilled Steak Tostadas

What could be better than steak-and-onion tostadas that are ready in under an hour? How about ones that feature flavorful chili-coffee marinated steak?

Get the Recipe: Grilled Steak Tostadas

Seafood Tostada

If you’re looking to take your cooking skills to the next level, you’ll love this recipe. You pressure-cook your own octopus, pickle your own chile peppers and fry your own tortillas. It’s a project — but we promise it’s worth the effort!

Get the Recipe: Seafood Tostada

Chipotle Beef Tostadas

These beef-and-veggie tostadas make the perfect weeknight meal. They’re loaded with good-for-you ingredients (like pinto beans and zucchini) and are on the table in a flash.

Get the Recipe: Chipotle Beef Tostadas

Oxtail Tostadas

Satisfy your inner-chef with this skills-building recipe. Braised oxtails get nice and tender in the pressure cooker while you work on the other parts of the recipe: pickled onions and chile peppers, avocado crema and fried tortillas.

Get the Recipe: Oxtail Tostadas

Beef Tostadas

Take taco night in a whole new direction by loading all your favorite toppings onto a flat, crispy corn shell.

Get the Recipe: Beef Tostadas

Breakfast Tostada

Ree gives tostadas the bacon-and-eggs treatment with her savory breakfast-inspired take. The flavor of salty, thick-cut bacon is perfect alongside black beans, hot sauce and avocado.

Get the Recipe: Breakfast Tostada